AT&T Promises Better Broadband…If it Gets Another Tax Cut

By Karl Bode; DSLReports ~ Nov 14, 2017

AT&T continues to promise that it will deploy broadband more broadly — if it gets another giant tax cut. In a press release intended to show support for Trump’s “tax reform” plans, the telecom giant promised to invest an additional $1 billion in US telecom infrastructure in 2018 if the corporate tax rate is further reduced.




AT&T Declares the New Microservices World Order

By Kelsey Kusterer Ziser; Light Reading ~ Nov 03, 2017

DALLAS — AT&T Summit — In her keynote earlier this week, AT&T’s Melissa Arnoldi said the old way of building enterprise apps is dead and microservices are the future of software development.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) unveiled its microservices supplier program this week, which Arnoldi, president of technology and operations for AT&T Communications, said is an effort to move away from the development of monolithic apps to creating customized apps by combining microservices.




Why It’s Too Soon to Predict What the Tax Changes Will Mean for You

By Ron Lieber; The New York Times ~ Nov 02, 2017

The news on Thursday that Congress does not (for now at least) plan to fundamentally alter our workplace savings plans was a pleasant surprise on its own. Current homeowners won’t see their mortgage interest deductions disappear, either.




Here’s How The Gender Gap Applies To Retirement

By Kara Stiles; Forbes ~ Nov 01, 2017

In its 2016 study “Shortchanged in Retirement,” The National Institute on Retirement Security explored financial hardships facing employed women, women approaching retirement and retired women. Co-authored by Manager of Research Jennifer Brown, the study identified that women are much more likely to face poverty in retirement than their male counterparts.




Rising Health Insurance Costs Frighten Some Early Retirees

By Steven Findlay ; Kaiser Health News ~ Nov 01, 2017

Don and Debra Clark of Springfield, Mo., are glad they have health insurance. Don is 56 and Debra is 58. The Clarks say they know the risk of an unexpected illness or medical event is rising as they age and they must have coverage.




U.S. states allege broad generic drug price-fixing collusion

By Karen Freifeld; Reuters ~ Oct 31, 2017

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A large group of U.S. states accused key players in the generic drug industry of a broad price-fixing conspiracy, moving on Tuesday to widen an earlier lawsuit to add many more drugmakers and medicines in an action that sent some company shares tumbling.




AT&T Launches Open Source AI Platform

From News Wire Feed; Light Reading ~ Oct 30, 2017

Artificial intelligence accessible to everyone. To that end, we’re collaborating with Tech Mahindra to build an open source artificial intelligence (AI) platform, Acumos, hosted by The Linux Foundation that makes it easy to build, share and deploy AI applications. The platform will provide a marketplace for accessing, using and enhancing those applications.




Will the ‘tax torpedo’ blow up your retirement?

By Ilana Polyak; CNBC ~ Oct 30, 2017

• Half of retirees don’t need to worry about the taxation of Social Security, because their income is too low.
• The tax torpedo typically comes at age 71, when the required minimum distribution from tax-deferred 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts kicks in.
• Action must be taken years in advance to set up your income stream for maximum tax efficiency.




Opinion: How a Republican Idea for Reducing Medicare Costs Could Affect You

From Austin Frakt; The New York Times ~ Oct 30, 2017

Last month, as Republican leaders were preoccupied with another unsuccessful attempt to replace Obamacare, a senior Trump administration official issued a warning about a different major medical program, Medicare.




Beware of scammers using Medicare to defraud you

By Sarah O’Brien; CNBC ~ Oct 27, 2017

• Criminals want to get their hands on your personal information to defraud Medicare or steal your identity.
• Older Americans tend to lose more per reported fraud than younger consumers.
• If you’re called unsolicited and asked for your personal information, it’s a red flag.

As older Americans sort through their options during Medicare open enrollment, they might discover an unwanted complication: fraudsters.










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